The present invention relates to a garment and, more particularly, to a shirt which includes adjustable sleeves that can be easily attached and detached by the user for changing the length of the sleeves.
Generally speaking, shirts, and in particular dress shirts, have not varied much over the years. While some changes have been made with respect to features of shirts, for example, the type of collar, and the type of material from which the shirt is made, the general construction of the shirt has not been altered much.
All sleeved shirts include some form of a collar, front and back panels and sleeves. Typically a person possesses two different types of shirts to accommodate their needs for different situations, such as different temperature environments. For example, with respect to dress shirts, it is quite common to have both long sleeves (i.e., sleeves which reach from the shoulder down to the wrist), as well as short sleeves (i.e., sleeves which reach from the shoulder down to approximately the elbow). In a warm environment, the user would tend to wear a short sleeve shirt, whereas in a cold environment, the user instead wears a long sleeve shirt.
In modern day business environments, it is quite common for businesspeople, during the course of the day, to need to have two different types of shirts available. For example, the businessperson might be dressed up for the business environment, then at some point during the day need to xe2x80x9cdress downxe2x80x9d for a certain situation (e.g., going to a casual meeting after work, or a business location which requires, or where it is beneficial to wear, a short sleeve shirt). In such circumstances, the businessperson would need to have two different types of shirts available, one long sleeve shirt and one short sleeve shirt.
Also, if the temperature in a person""s home or office changes significantly during the course of the day (e.g., because of loss of air conditioning and/or heating), it may be necessary for the person to change their attire to account for this change in temperature. If the person happens to be wearing a long sleeve dress shirt, they may need to roll-up the sleeves to provide the necessary cooling. However, in some business environments, this type of appearance is not preferred or may be considered xe2x80x9csloppyxe2x80x9d.
A typical dress shirt includes cuffs at the ends of the sleeves having buttons located on the outside of a wearer""s arm. Therefore it is desirable that the adjustable sleeves be oriented with respect to the shirt to present buttons on the outside of a wearer""s arm in accordance with the established custom. To date, no existing outerwear permits removable sleeves to be indexed for proper alignment.
A need, therefore, exists for an improved shirt which allows for variations in sleeve length to account for different circumstances and provides a mechanism for permitting the removable sleeve to be attached in the proper orientation.
The present invention relates to a shirt which has a lower adjustable sleeve segment that is capable of being removably attached to an upper fixed segment in more than one circumferential orientation. The shirt includes first and second indexing mechanisms supported by the upper and lower segments providing for attachment of the lower segment in a particular desired circumferential orientation.
The indexing mechanisms according to the present invention may embody patches affixed to the upper and lower sleeve segments such that alignment of the patches results in the desired circumferential orientation. The first and second indexing mechanisms may also be incorporated into the attachment mechanisms providing for the releasable attachment of the lower segment to the upper segment. According to one embodiment the first indexing mechanisms include distinctly colored buttons or button securing thread while the second indexing mechanism includes distinctly colored thread reinforcing the button hole to be engaged by the button bearing the first indexing mechanism.
The indexing mechanism may also embody hook and loop material of a hook and loop connector in which the first indexing mechanism includes a distinctly colored portion of loop material which is secured to the upper segment and the second indexing mechanism includes a distinctly colored portion of hook material secured to the lower segment. Attachment of the distinctly colored portion of loop material to the distinctly colored portion of the hook material provides for the desired circumferential orientation of the lower sleeve segment.
The use of a removable segment permits the sleeve to be shortened to address changes in temperature or social environments. The use of indexing mechanisms facilitates attachment of the removable segment in a particular circumferential orientation which is useful for presenting cuff buttons according to established custom on the outside of a wearer""s arm.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying figures.